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The Washington DC Public Utilities Commission approved a long-term power purchase agreement in partnership with Invenergy.
The Washington DC Public Utilities Commission (PSC) has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for renewable energy to serve a target amount of 5% of the utility load of the standard offer service (SOS) from December 2024.
The agreement is the result of a pilot program to acquire renewable energy through long-term PPAs for the generation of electricity from solar and wind energy located in the interconnection region of the PJM, an electrical transmission system that provides service to all or part of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
The agreement, signed with developer Invenergy, covers the sale of power, renewable energy credits and capacity over a 15-year term. The PPA includes level prices for approximately 154,000 MWh of electricity per year, representing 73 MW, or 29% of Invenergys solar project capacity.
The project represents one more step for the PSC to get closer to achieving the goal of 100% renewable energy by 2032. “The approval of a 15-year renewable energy agreement for SOS customers is an important milestone for the Commission ”, declared Emile C. Thompson, president of the PSC.
The SOS program allows DC electric customers to buy electric generation services by default through Pepco and instead of some 45 unregulated competitive electric providers. Around 31% of Pepcos electricity supply sales were made through the SOS program in 2021.
In DC, about 86% of residential electricity customers purchase default SOS power supplied by Pepco. This latest deal is Pepcos largest solar purchase for its customers to date.
“By incorporating the long-term renewable energy PPA into the SOS procurement portfolio, we are taking direct action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by promoting the construction of new renewable energy generation within the grid region. of PJM. This pilot program is the product of a collaborative, comprehensive and transparent process of the SOS Working Group. I want to thank all stakeholders, including the Office of the Town Councilor, for their input and participation,” said Thompson.
"We intend to re-engage the SOS Task Force as we strive to further advance the Districts energy and climate goals, exploring expanding the percentage of SOS load served by renewable energy PPAs in the near term," he added.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Washington DC has 181 MW of installed solar capacity to date, enough to power nearly 30,000 homes. All of this is widely distributed across sectors, with significant capacity in residential, commercial, community and utility solar power. The District is home to 157 solar companies and has had $430 million in solar investment to date.
In 2021, Washington DC had 1,055 solar jobs. It is anticipated that 216 MW will be added in the next five years, more than doubling the installed capacity of the 10,624 existing solar installations today. |
